Two big bucks taken less than 14 days apart are rewriting the Massachusetts record book this fall. On November 14, Dan Daigle put a 20-yard shot on the biggest buck ever to fall to an archery hunter in the Bay State, a 198-inch nontypical 16-pointer taken—appropriately enough—near the town of Rutland (photo below). Twelve days later, on the first day of the firearms season, muzzleloader hunter Craig Luscier downed this 22-point Massachusetts monster, green scored at 211 1/8 inches, near the New York-Massachusetts state line. The buck reportedly has 45 inches of abnormal points (photo above).

Both scores are unofficial, pending the 60-day drying period and a review by a three-scorer panel. But officials with the Northeast Big Buck Club confirm that both deer should have plenty of horn to surpass the current state-record bucks. NBBC measures both net and gross scores but uses the gross number in ranking record bucks.

In Ohio, Mark Guinther got a pleasant surprise when his 24-pointer was officially scored earlier this month. Guinther’s buck, which we reported in October with a green score of 196, actually earned a higher final score than projected: 206 4/8 net nontypical.